


Bad Dreams

by Elleberquist6



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: (not Dan and Phil their relationship isn't abusive), Abusive Relationships, Aftercare, Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Getting Together, Grinding, Groping, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced BDSM, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Non-Consensual Groping, Prostitute Dan Howell, Public Hand Jobs, Public Sex, Strangers to Lovers, Verbal Abuse, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-05 00:36:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15158582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elleberquist6/pseuds/Elleberquist6
Summary: After dating a man named Jake for a few months, Phil has learned that they have very different tastes -- not only do they have nothing in common, but Jake has a voyeurism kink. Phil wants to make his boyfriend happy (even if he himself is unhappy), so he agrees to go with Jake to a club where they can witness a public sexual encounter. However, the night takes an unexpected turn when a young prostitute named Dan steps onto the stage.Dan doesn't want to be in this situation on stage and in this club, but he feels that he has no other option. Then he meets Phil -- someone who also doesn't want to be here in this club tonight. Dan should have no reason to trust Phil, but he sees his situation paralleled in Phil's, so he lets him get closer.What will happen when instead of going home with his boyfriend, Phil goes home with the young prostitute?





	Bad Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> If you're more familiar with my fluffy, happy mythology AUs, do not read this expecting that kind of story -- this is different in every single way. That was the whole point in writing it: to demonstrate that I am capable of writing something different. And also to challenge myself to write something shorter than my usual stories, since I'm usually long-winded...

Phil didn’t want to be here. This sort of thing made him uncomfortable, but his boyfriend Jake had a voyeurism kink. All it took was Jake pouting his full lips and pleading with his pretty green eyes, and Phil relented with a sigh. “Okay, I’ll go to this club with you.”

The beginning of the night wasn’t too bad. Phil hated nightclubs because large crowds of people made him nervous – too many chances to have awkward social encounters – and he never knew what to do with his long gangly limbs on the dance floor. This wasn’t as bad as his previous experiences in clubs, since it was closed for a private party tonight. Only about 2 dozen people were here tonight, the dance floor was empty, and the music was off. 

Jake led Phil to the bar and grabbed them some drinks. Phil happily took a stool beside Jake and sipped a cocktail. They made small talk about how work went today, but Jake was distracted – Phil could tell by the way that Jake’s eyes kept darting around the room while his leg twitched nonstop.

Eventually, Phil gave up on connecting with his boyfriend through conversation, and he also looked around the room. It appeared that most of the other people in the room – all men – had stopped at the bar for a drink already, but Phil and Jake were the only ones who lingered at there. The rest of the men had taken their drinks as they wandered through the room. Some had clustered in corners of the room to have whispered conversations, but most of the men had gathered around the stage at the front of the room. The stage was empty except for a bed, the sight of which made Phil swallow heavily. 

A laugh drew Phil’s attention back to Jake. Jake seemed to grow more amused when Phil blushed. “I’m sorry, but the look on your face when you saw the bed… You knew what we came here to watch, Phil.”

Phil wanted to protest – _no, that’s what you came here to watch, not me._ But instead he just gave Jake a small smile and tried to look relaxed. He glanced around the room again as he asked, “So, the man who is going to be… is he one of the men walking around right now?” Phil grimaced at the thought. He and Jake were the youngest and fittest men here; Phil was 23 and Jake was 25. He didn’t really want to see any of these men naked, and he had a fleeting hope that Jake would decide to leave once these men started to undress. “Which one is he?”

“No, I don’t think they’ve brought him out yet,” Jake answered, his eyes scanning the crowd. “I’ve heard he’s supposed to be young, and I think he’d be on the stage, not mingling.”

Phil shrugged and turned his back to the stage, not really interested in what was going to be happening there soon. He sipped his cocktail and did his best to enjoy this moment because at least Jake was having fun. Jake could be nice sometimes. They’d been going out for the past few months and had been running into an issue. Their initial attraction had been all physical, and when the novelty of that and of a new relationship had started to wear off, they were faced with the reality that they had nothing in common. Jake liked drinking beer, working out, watching sports, and going places.

Phil liked none of that. He just wanted to sit on the sofa and drink Ribena while watching anime. He’d wanted to do this with his boyfriend and Jake had tried it, but after a few moments he would huff with a sigh. He would call the show boring, call Phil boring, and poke Phil’s stomach, saying that this was why Phil didn’t have abs. The fingertip that Jake jabbed his stomach with would make him curl in on himself with shame, and so Phil had stopped trying to share his interests with Jake. 

Phil had wanted to be a good boyfriend, though. So, he sat on the sofa with Jake whenever a game was on, went jogging with him some mornings when all he wanted was a slow easy morning with coffee and cereal, and then he had finally relented to this kink of Jake’s by coming with him to this club. He was scared that if he didn’t he would lose his boyfriend when Jake came here on his own. And more than anything, Phil was scared of being alone – Jake had been careful to drive that fear into Phil’s heart.

They argued sometimes, and Jake usually won by pointing out to Phil how lucky he was to have a boyfriend like Jake, and how easy it would be for him to walk out that door, leaving Phil alone. And Phil would always be alone after that. He would be alone for the rest of his life because no one would want someone as worthless as him; Jake had blessed him by accepting him, so Phil had to do whatever he wanted.

Like coming to this place.

The speakers on the walls crackled with sound as someone picked up a microphone. Phil turned around to see a man in a suit step on the stage holding a mic. In his other hand the man was dragging a boy by a red-and-gold striped tie as if it was a leash.

The boy, who had brown hair, was dressed in a white button-down shirt which was untucked and hanging over tan slacks. Was this boy the entertainment? Phil had expected someone older who was dressed like a stripper, but the boy’s outfit only emphasized his age as he looked like he could have just taken off his school blazer.

“Oh my gosh, he’s just a kid,” Phil whispered to Jake.

A few men in the crowd were giving whoops and wolf whistles of appreciation at the sight of the boy, and Phil was worried that Jake hadn’t heard him as he had the boy fixed in a hungry gaze. Then Jake whispered back, “No, he’s hot. That’s what he is.”

Phil frowned and turned back to the bar, as if he just wanted to take another sip of his drink. Really, he had wanted to look away from the boy’s face, unwilling to be just another man in the crowd eyeing him like a predator. He couldn’t help listening, though.

The man in the suit holding the microphone started talking, “Welcome, gentlemen. Thank you for coming. We have quite the show planned for you tonight. I’d like to introduce this fresh, pretty face.”

As the crowd cheered in delight, Phil couldn’t help turning slightly to take in the scene in a moment of morbid curiosity. The man in the suit tugged the tie to prompt the boy to take a few steps forward. They were standing in front of the bed now.

“Gentlemen, meet Dan. This is his debut. He’s 18, a virgin, and is ready to be fucked. Who is interested?”

The men gathered around the stage howled in response. Phil was going to look away again, but his eyes fell on the boy’s face. He couldn’t tell what color they were at this distance, but the boy’s eyes were widened so much that he could see the whites of them. He was tall, but his shoulders were slumped, like he wanted to make himself look small so that he could hide. He was also biting and chewing on his bottom lip so hard that Phil expected to see blood soon.

After the crowd gave an initial shout to show their interest in Dan, various voices started to rise from the crowd. 

“Have him take off his shirt, I want to see more of him!”

“Patience, patience,” said the man in the suit.

“Make him turn around. Wanna see his ass.”

The man tugged the tie to bring the boy within his reach. While the boy’s hands went to his throat to loosen what was apparently becoming a very tight knot across his windpipe, the man in the suit manhandled him. He grabbed Dan by the shoulder and turned him around so that his back was facing the crowd. Then he lifted up Dan’s untucked shirt to expose his backside in the tight trousers.

“Satisfied?” The man in the suit asked. When the crowd whooped in answer, the man slapped Dan’s ass before releasing him. “Any other questions?”

“How do we know he’s a virgin?” A man shouted, and a few others grumbled their agreement with this.

The boy had turned around to face the crowd again, and at these words his face flushed.

“He is,” the man in the suit said. “And trust me, you won’t doubt it when you feel how tight he is. So, any takers?” He laughed when several men shouted their interest, each trying to be heard over the others. “Okay, let’s hear some numbers. Highest bidder gets the first shot. The others will just have to watch and wait their turn.”

Phil turned back to face the bar. As he picked up his drink – the ice had mostly melted in the cocktail by now – his hand shook slightly. This was not at all what he had pictured when he agreed to come here with his boyfriend. The boy on the stage looked scared, and Phil didn’t want to see this. He looked up from his drink when he felt Jake’s hand on his shoulder. 

Jake had also turned around to face the bar as the auction started behind them, and he gave Phil a broad smile. “Well, how are you liking it so far?”

“Liking it…” Phil repeated as he organized his thoughts. “Um, I just feel bad for the kid. This is an awful way for him to lose his virginity.”

Jake snorted in response and shook his head. “Phil, you’re so naïve. That’s just a thing they say. It’s all for show, all for the kinks. He’s probably been screwed a hundred times already, but they’re just saying it to help get the men off. You’ll see, it’s all an act. He’ll make a show of being all shy when it begins, but then he’ll start moaning.”

“If you say so…” Phil mumbled because the boy hadn’t looked like he was acting. But the thought that it was all for show had comforted Phil a bit, so he was happy that Jake had said it. He took another sip of his drink, thinking that he might have to order another cocktail and drink it soon if he was going to get through this night. 

The bidding started to wind down, and finally the highest bid was accepted when there were no challengers. Some of the men in the crowd grumbled in annoyance that they had missed out, while others were congratulating the highest bidder and offering suggestions of what he could do to the boy he had just bought.

Phil ordered his second drink and started nursing it, while at his side Jake was staring intently over his shoulder. Since there was no sound but the soft murmur of the crowd, Phil wasn’t sure what his boyfriend was seeing. Just as Phil was starting to feel buzzed, he heard something that made his spine stiffen: the creaking of bedsprings.

A hush fell over the room, and all Phil could hear was the pounding beat of his own heart. And then there was a gasp and pained whimper that came from across the room. This didn’t sound like what Jake had said was going to happen, but Jake started breathing heavily. Phil glanced at him, seeing his boyfriend’s unblinking gaze that was fixed on what was happening across the room. His pupils were dilated with arousal.

Jake seemed to sense Phil’s eyes on him because he turned to face Phil with a smile. “It’s really hot. You should take a look.”

The man fucking Dan was now grunting in pleasure, and the sound made Phil grimace. That didn’t sound like something Phil wanted to see, so he shook his head.

Jake sighed. “Why did you come here Phil, if you’re not even going to look?”

Phil bit his lip, considering his words because he didn’t want to get into an argument now. “I’m here for you. Because you want this.”

“Okay. Want you, too.” Jake said, leaning in to place a kiss against the side of Phil’s neck.

Phil leaned into Jake when he kissed his neck because this was unexpected. In general, Jake wasn’t an affectionate boyfriend. He kissed Phil when he wanted it to lead to sex, and he was sweet only when he wanted something special from Phil in the bedroom. When they had first started dating, Phil had wanted cuddles, kisses, and soft touches, but he quickly gave up when Jake had called him clingy and pathetic.

So, his skin tingled under Jake’s lips, starved for affection. He leaned into it as the lips lingered, sucking a mark into his skin. Jake’s hands were giving him some attention, too. They roamed over his hip and then up his shirt, one hand playing with the fabric of his boxer-briefs while the other hand trailed up his chest.

It felt nice until the boy in the room gave a very loud pained whimper. Phil stiffened under Jake’s hands, but he didn’t seem to notice. Jake repositioned himself on the stool so that he was closer to Phil and one of his thighs was behind him. Phil also realized that Jake’s head was turned so that he could continue watching the stage while he was sucking on Phil’s neck.

The whimpers were getting louder and the man fucking Dan seemed to be close, judging by the way he was groaning. Phil barely noticed it when what was happening on the stage finished because Jake gasped at the sight of whatever was happening, and the breath on his skin made Phil shiver. Jake jerked in his seat, his pelvis coming closer to grind against Phil.

For a moment, Phil was relieved. He had thought that when the noises coming from the stage had stopped that it would be over, but he had forgotten that the man in the suit had said that more men in the crowd would have their shot with the boy once the first finished. When Dan yelped in pain, Phil shut his eyes, though all he could see in front of him were bottles of liquor behind the bar.

Jake’s lips stopped sucking on his neck as he whispered, “God, I want to do that to you. Phil, you should really see this.”

Phil opened his eyes as he shook his head. “I don’t understand this. You want to make me sound like that?”

“Yes. I want to pin you beneath me and watch you submit to me. I want to make you shriek with it and see how well you take it.”

Phil shivered. The thought did not turn him on – it made him uneasy. He and Jake had talked about it and tried a few light things with handcuffs, but he didn’t think that he could give Jake what he wanted. The issue was he didn’t trust Jake in that way. As he heard the boy crying in pain behind them, he knew how easily those cries would come from him if he submitted to Jake, who wouldn’t stop as long as he could make himself feel good using Phil’s body.

He couldn’t do this. He didn’t want this. Phil shook his head and swallowed heavily. “Jake, I… I don’t like this stuff. I just want to go home. I feel sick.”

“I like it, though,” Jake said as the hand on his waist tightened until Phil was held in a bruising grip. “You never do anything that I like. Why are we even together, if we never do anything that I like?”

Phil licked his lips. Usually he would have just accepted Jake’s words, which were a thinly veiled threat to leave if Phil didn’t do what he wanted, but right now Phil was the one who wanted to leave. The sounds coming from the bed were making him want to vomit – the cocktails were churning unpleasantly in his stomach. He hated the fact that he felt like an accomplice in what was happening to the scared boy because he was sitting in this room. He just wanted to run away.

So, he decided to argue with Jake for once. “I know why we’re together. Do you? We’re together because we like each other and like spending time together. Except I’m not really comfortable right now, so…”

“I’m with you because I love your body,” Jake said as he continued to run his hands under Phil’s shirt, leaving a tingling trail across the skin. It didn’t feel good. “Phil, I want you to touch me.”

“What?” Phil gasped, vaguely noting that the boy on the stage was also gasping. “Touch you where?”

“Where do you think?” Jake said with a snort. “Rub me through my jeans. Or better yet in my jeans. Come on, Phil. I’m already so close.”

Close? From watching this? The only thing that Phil was close to doing was vomiting all over the bar top – from this room, from what was happening to the poor boy, and from the rising realization that his boyfriend was more than a bit sick. As he shook his head, Phil said, “No, I don’t want to.”

“Come on, I said I was close,” Jake insisted, shifting nearer to Phil. “You’re my boyfriend. So, you have to.”

Phil shook his head, but Jake took his hand out of Phil’s shirt and place it on his wrist. He took Phil’s hand and placed it on the bulge in his jeans, urging Phil to rub it. The grip on his wrist was unyielding – he felt the bones of his wrist grinding together – so he started stroking Jake through his jeans. Phil hated this. He felt so exposed, doing this in public where anyone could be watching. It wasn’t the same, but he felt almost as on display as the poor boy on the stage. Then the comparison became too much when Jake groaned with pleasure at the same time as the man who was currently fucking the boy.

“I can’t, let me go,” Phil protested. He twisted his wrist in Jake’s hand and the pressure brought tears to his eyes, but he managed to get free.

“Phil…” Jake said with an annoyed sigh.

Phil met the green eyes that were narrowed with annoyance. He swallowed heavily because he didn’t like what he saw in those eyes. Slowly like he was a mouse caught in a cat’s gaze, he climbed off the barstool.

“Where are you going?” Jake asked. His hand flew to the back of Phil’s neck, stopping him from taking another step away. The hand started to squeeze and Phil gasped. He felt bile rising in the back of his throat, and it wasn’t just from disgust this time.

His voice shook with terror as he said, “Let… let me go, Jake. I’m about to be sick. I don’t want to be sick here.”

When Jake released him, Phil hurried to scurry out of the room, but not without glancing at the stage since he was once more feeling that sense of morbid curiosity. The boy was on his knees facing the crowd with a man behind him. He looked exhausted – that was all Phil noticed before he realized that the boy’s eyes were fixed on him. They locked gazes for a moment before Phil fled the room, wanting to get to the bathroom before Jake grabbed him again.

Once he was in the bathroom, Phil ran into a stall and locked the door behind him. He took a deep breath. It was quiet in here except for the sound of a dripping tap. He felt safe and the urge to vomit left him, so he leaned against the door of the stall and tried to take deep breaths until his hands stopped shaking. Then the door of the bathroom opened. Phil turned his head to listen. It might be someone else. It might not be… “Phil, it’s me. I know you’re in here. Come on.”

Phil swallowed heavily, reminding himself that there was the locked door of a bathroom stall between them. He said, “I think I’m going to stay in here for a while. I don’t feel so good.”

“You sound fine to me. Come on, Phil. I’m missing the finale of the show because of you.”

Phil shook his head, though Jake couldn’t see him. “I’m not coming. You go watch.”

Jake sighed heavily. “Phil, I’m not happy about this. You’ve spoiled this night for me. If you don’t come out right now, I’m going to drive off and leave you here.”

For a long moment, Phil just stood there, listening carefully while his heart pounded in his chest. Finally, Phil heard retreating footsteps and the bathroom door opened and closed. He peeked through the gap in the door of the stall and saw the room was empty, so he sagged against the cool metal surface in relief. He didn’t trust Jake to not be standing outside the bathroom door where he would grab him the moment he left this room, so he stayed where he was, focusing on evening his breathing.

Some time had passed before the bathroom door opened again. It was a public bathroom so Phil wasn’t too concerned with the other person in the room until he heard how labored the other man’s breathing was, and though he turned on the sink Phil couldn’t mistake the sound of soft sobbing over the rushing of the water.

Phil peeked through the gap in the stall door again, and this time he saw who was in the room with him: the boy from the stage. As Phil watched, the boy’s shaking legs gave out and he slowly lowered himself to the floor while keeping a shaky grasp on the edge of the sink. The boy settled onto his knees with a whine and pressed his forehead against the edge of the porcelain sink.

It was too much – Phil had witnessed this boy’s pain for the whole night, and he couldn’t just spectate anymore. Quietly, he unlocked the stall door and approached the boy. “Hi there… you’re Dan, right?”

The boy spun around with a gasp. One of his hands continued to grip the sink, but the other went to his stomach as the abrupt movement apparently made something hurt. He was staring up at Phil with wide eyes that Phil could now see were a rich shade of brown.

Phil could tell that he was scaring him by towering over him. He held out his hands to show that he wasn’t going to hit him. Slowly he moved beside him until he was kneeling next to him. The sink between them continued pooling with steaming water.

The boy relaxed when Phil knelt – he seemed too exhausted to hold himself stiff with terror for long. He nodded before once more pressing his forehead against the porcelain sink “Yeah, I’m Dan. I know you. You were at the bar.”

Phil cringed. “I… I’m sorry.” He hated the fact that he had just been grouped in with the other two dozen men who had come here to see Dan’s pain. As much as he wanted to explain himself and his presence here tonight, none of that was important right now – this boy was really hurt. “Um, do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

Dan shook his head and shut his eyes. “No, I’m fine.” He didn’t look fine; the white button-down shirt was mostly open, and where it was unbuttoned Phil could see red marks and bruises forming on the boy’s skin. He was trembling and though he had stopped crying, his cheeks were blotchy.

Phil stood up to grab a paper towel from a nearby dispenser. He dampened a corner of it in the warm water before turning it off. Then he returned to the boy’s side.

Dan was staring at him again with wide eyes. When Phil held the paper towel before his face, Dan cringed away.

Phil bit his lip and pulled his hand back. “I’m sorry. I know you have no reason to trust me after seeing me in that room tonight, but I swear that I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help.”

“I know that,” Dan said softly. “I do. I don’t think you’re going to hurt me.”

“Oh?” Phil asked. He decided to try touching Dan’s face again, and this time Dan didn’t flinch. Phil wiped the drying tears from the boy’s blotchy face, noticing how soft and smooth his skin was.

Dan nodded. “I don’t think you’re the type of person who hurts people. Actually… that guy you were here with tonight. I saw him grab your neck.”

Phil looked at Dan with wide eyes. “You did?” It seemed remarkable to him that anyone could have noticed Phil’s distress while going through what Dan had felt at that moment – and this was contrasted by the months Phil had been suffering while in a relationship with Jake. Phil’s family, his friends, and his neighbors had all seen him with Jake, and none of them had noticed. But this poor injured boy had seen Phil once with Jake and he had known what was wrong. It made Phil feel uneasy and exposed, though oddly comforted at the same time – this boy knew what he was. “Um, that was…”

“I know what it was. Really, I know,” Dan said, leaving no doubt that he saw his own situation mirrored in Phil’s. He gave Phil a wobbly grin. “Takes one to know one. Seriously though, I was worried about you when he chased you. Did he catch you? Are you hurt?”

“He didn’t hurt me this time. I’m fine,” Phil said. He was running the damp paper towel across Dan’s forehead to clean him of sweat. “I hid in the stall and locked the door. He said that he was leaving me here. I think he’s gone.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad you weren’t hurt, too.” He was having trouble keeping his eyes open and he looked like he might tip over at any moment. The chocolate-brown eyes opened fully when Phil put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, Dan, is there something I can do to help? Someone I can call? Or someplace I can take you?”

Dan shook his head. “I don’t have anyone – I ran away from home recently and I’m never going back. And I don’t have anywhere to go. I’ve been staying here, but… but my boss said that he wanted to see me after the show, and I didn’t like the way he looked at me when he said it. I can’t handle what he wants to do to me right now; it hurts too much. I don’t want to do this anymore. I just want to leave. I…”

Phil gave the shoulder under his hand a soft squeeze. “I’ll help you leave. Let me know where you want me to take you.”

“Anywhere,” Dan sighed under his breath. “I’m so tired. I just want to sleep.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Phil said as he stood up. He tossed away the paper towel and then offered Dan a hand.  
 

Dan took his hand and whined as he stood up. “Ugh, my whole body hurts. I don’t know how much I can move.”

“It’s okay. Lean on me,” Phil said, taking Dan’s arm and placing it over his shoulder. “We’re going to get a cab. Just walk outside with me. If you can’t walk any farther after that, I’ll carry you.”

 

 

They made it outside without Dan collapsing, and they got lucky once more – a cab was driving past, looking for customers, so they didn’t have to phone for one and wait. They got inside and Dan fell asleep against Phil’s shoulder almost as soon as they sat inside the cab. Phil let him rest there during the ride, but it wasn’t long before they arrived at Phil’s apartment and he had to wake Dan up. Dan grumbled when Phil shook his shoulder gently, but he climbed out of the cab and followed Phil into the lobby of the apartment building.

Only once they were in the elevator did Dan ask, “Where are we?”

“My place,” Phil answered. He saw the way Dan’s eyes widened. “I have a spare room. If you feel comfortable with it, you can sleep there tonight.”

Dan made a soft noise in response as he relaxed again and his eyes glazed over – he was asleep on his feet. When the elevator doors opened, Phil guided Dan to the door of the apartment, which he unlocked.

As he closed the door behind them, Phil asked, “Dan, do you want me to show you where the bathroom is? Or did you want to go right to bed?”

“Bed please. In the morning I’ll probably wish I took a shower first, but I think I’d just fall asleep in the shower if I tried to clean up now.”

Phil started guiding him to the spare bedroom. “I could bring you a washcloth if you want to try to clean yourself up a bit before lying down. I can lend you some pjs, too.”

“Thank you, I…” Dan stopped walking to stare at him. “I just realized I don’t know your name.”

Phil smiled. “Oh, I’m Phil. Nice to meet you.”

Dan gave a breathy laugh. “Yeah, nice to meet you, too,”

 

 

Phil woke slowly to the realization that his bed wasn’t empty. There was a warm body lying next to him. The person ran his fingers through Phil’s hair, making Phil sigh in pleasure. He wasn’t fully awake yet and his glasses were off, so he had no idea who the other person was. His sleepy mind started to recall the events of last night, which had been awful except for the boy.

The sight of that boy being hurt had been nightmare material, but then getting to take care of him hadn’t been so bad. It had made the whole night worth it, and Phil had felt like his actions had put some good back into the awful world. And the lovely boy had made the night a whole lot better, too.

Phil wasn’t quite sure who Dan was yet since they had only just met and Dan had been in so much pain, but so far Phil like the things that he had learned about the boy. He was sweet, gentle, and caring. Phil had never met anyone like him before, and he wanted to get to know him so much better. Phil rolled towards the person in bed with him, sighing, “Dan?”

“Who is Dan?” asked a familiar voice with a snort. “Not cheating on me in your dreams, are you, Philly?”

Phil stiffened, focusing on the pale blob that he now knew was Jake’s blurry face. “What are you doing here?”

“I felt bad about how we left things last night. So, I decided to let myself in so that we could talk. You don’t mind, do you?”

Phil did mind, but he knew from experience that Jake didn’t like it when Phil told him about things that bothered him. “Um, could I put on my glasses first? And maybe have some coffee before we try to talk?”

“Sure, but why don’t you put in your contacts instead? You know I don’t like your glasses.”

Phil nodded and climbed out of bed, doing his best to find his way to the bathroom half-blind. Once he had completed his morning routine, he went to the kitchen where he supposed Jake would be, probably making coffee. He found Jake there, but there was no coffee.

Jake was sitting stiffly at the breakfast bar, and he glared at Phil when he walked into the room. The glare froze Phil’s feet to the tiles in the center of the room. “Um, is something wrong?”

Jake snorted, “ _Is something wrong?_ Are you seriously asking that? I noticed the guestroom door was closed, which seemed odd. So, I peeked inside. Phil, why is there a fucking prostitute asleep in your spare bed?”

Phil shook his head. Everything he had learned about Dan had convinced him that Dan was a teenager who was taken advantage of last night. Not that there was anything wrong with being a prostitute, but he didn’t like the way that Jake had applied the label to Dan in a way to dehumanize him. “He’s not a prostitute. He’s just a hurt boy who needed someplace safe to sleep last night, so I brought him here.”

“Not a prostitute?” Jake repeated with a shake of his head. “I believe what we watched last night contradicts that claim.”

Phil’s cheeks flushed with shame, and suddenly he was so angry; he felt like Jake had tainted him by bringing him to that awful place. “About that, you were wrong. You were so wrong. You told me it was all a show, but those men really hurt him. He didn’t like it and he could barely walk after. I can’t believe you made me sit there while an 18-year-old boy was abused. I can’t believe you got off on it.”

“Didn’t like it?” Jake said with a chuckle. “Is that what he told you? He’s a fucking whore, Phil. And you’re so gullible. He manipulated you so that you would bring him home. If I hadn’t come here this morning, you probably would have woken up later today to find that he’d stolen your tv and laptop. Or if you fucked him last night, he would’ve just demand cash. So, Phil, did you fuck him?”

“You’re disgusting,” Phil said as he took a deep breath and shook his head. This wasn’t going to be the first time he had tried to break up with Jake. But this time he was sure this had to happen. “Jake… I’d like you to leave. And not come back. I don’t want to see you again.”

“What? You want me gone now that you have a whore in your bed? Really classy, Phil. You know he’s going to leave the second you pay him. And then you’ll be alone. Missing me. Wanting me back.” Jake sat at one of the breakfast bar stools, showing his unwillingness to leave. “I think I’d rather cut to the chase. Pay your whore. I’ll wait while he leaves.”

Phil shook his head. He knew that once Jake’s dark amusement faded, the situation was going to take an abrupt turn, and he was afraid but he fisted his hands so that Jake wouldn’t see them shaking. “Dan isn’t leaving. You are. Go. Now. Don’t make me call the police to escort you out.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Jake demanded as he stood up so fast that the stool fell over with a _crash_ , making Phil flinch. “You can’t break up with me. You are nothing without me.”

Phil licked his lips because his mouth felt dry, but he managed to say, “At this point I’d rather be nothing than be with you.”

When Jake started coming forward, Phil retreated a few steps, but his back pressed against the cool steel of his refrigerator and suddenly there was no where to run. Jake was standing in front of him with one hand on the fridge to cut off Phil’s escape path and the other hand raised – it was hanging there in the air, not yet a fist but close to it. Jake’s hot breath was on Phil’s face as he stared at him with cold green eyes. There was nothing he could do – Phil surrendered himself to whatever would come next. He braced himself for the blow that was about to fall.

“Let him go.”

Both Jake and Phil looked in the direction of the voice. Dan was leaning in the doorway, looking like he would fall over if he tried to stand up without the support. The bruises that were forming last night had set now and were dark across his wrists and neck – Phil couldn’t imagine what the rest of him under the pjs must look like right now. Dan looked so exhausted, and yet here he was, trying to help Phil. He didn’t pose the most intimidating figure in the doorway, but he glared at Jake as he held up a cellphone, showing him that he had already entered the number to call the police, and all he had to do was dial.

Jake snorted as he looked between Dan and Phil. His eyes eventually settled on Phil. “So, this is your savior? Your big hero is a fucked up and over-fucked boy?”

Phil narrowed his eyes. “Don’t talk about him like that. And get out of my home.”

“You have ten seconds before I call the police,” Dan warned, his finger hovering over the screen of his phone.

“Whatever,” Jake said as he finally pushed off the fridge and took a step away from Phil. “You two are pathetic. You deserve each other.”

Neither of them moved as Jake stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door on his way out. When they were alone again, Phil looked at the Dan, who was relaxing with a sigh as he returned his phone to his pocket. Dan was lovely – that was undeniable, even when he was covered with bruises – but what was stunning Phil in this moment was how brave and selfless he was. After going through such an awful night, he had still come to Phil’s rescue.

Jake had said that they deserved each other. All Phil could think was that he would be lucky to deserve having someone like Dan in his life.  

 

 

Dan was still a bit shaky on his feet, so he accepted Phil’s help getting to the sofa in the living room. Phil left briefly to make them both a bowl of cereal for breakfast. When he returned, he saw that Dan had put on an anime. “Could we watch this?” Dan asked.

“Of course,” Phil said, taking a bite of cereal to distract himself. Something about this was unsettling him. Then he realized what it was. After being with Jake for so long, he wasn’t used to feeling at ease with the person who was sitting in the room with him. He wasn’t used to feeling content and happy. This moment with Dan was perfect.

Dan took a few bites of cereal before dropping his spoon in his bowl, seeming distracted by something. Finally, he asked, “Phil, do you want me to leave after breakfast?”

Phil blinked in surprise. “Why would I want you to do that? And I thought you had nowhere to go. Would you go back to the club?”

Dan shrugged and looked away. “Probably. I don’t want to go back, but I have nowhere else.”

“You have here now,” Phil smiled when Dan met his eyes. “Stay in my spare room. I could use a good roommate.”

“Why would you want me?”

“Well, there’s the small fact that you saved my life today. I don’t know what Jake would have done to me if you hadn’t come into the room, but I’m pretty sure it would have ended badly for me. If not today, then someday I know that Jake would have hurt me very badly.” Phil felt free now. His smile widened as he looked at the lovely boy sharing the sofa with him. “Let me return the favor. Let me help you by giving you a safe place to live. I like you. I want you to be okay.”

Dan nodded, giving Phil a small smile in return. “I like you, too. Okay, then. Roommates. I’ll find a job so that I can chip in on rent.”

“Alright, but don’t stress out about it right now. Just relax. Feel better,” Phil said, and they both settled in on the sofa to enjoy the anime.   


 

It took time as they got comfortable with each other. They both had some healing to do, both emotional and physical. Dan’s bruises faded eventually, and Phil stopped jumping at the sound of loud noises that startled him. It would have been so much harder to heal alone, but they had each other – their home was their haven, and they kept each other safe, even from nightmares. Dan had them often when he first moved in, so when Phil woke up to hear the boy thrashing and whimpering in his sleep in the next room, he went in to check on him. He sat on the edge of the bed and shook his shoulder gently to wake him.

“Stay?” Dan asked when he realized that Phil woke him from a nightmare. Phil obliged, climbing into bed beside Dan. He wrapped his arms around the boy, wanting to make him feel safe and loved.

Because Dan was loved. So much. It hadn’t taken Phil long to fall for him after he moved in, but Phil kept his distance, giving them both the time and space they needed to recover from their traumas. Dan deserved to be with someone who wasn’t broken, so Phil focused on healing. Dan was the reason why Phil needed to get better. Dan gave him a future to look forward to, which was the most amazing thing that anyone had ever given him.  
 

Then one night Phil woke to a dark room. There was a hand gripping his shoulder while fear gripped his heart. He bolted upright in bed with a gasp.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” said a familiar voice. It was Dan who stroked his neck to calm him. “This time you were the one having a bad dream.”

“Oh,” Phil said as he sagged back against his pillows. The bedsprings shifted as Dan crawled in beside him, resting his head on the other pillow. Phil could make out the curve of Dan’s cheek in the darkness, edged with moonlight, and the glint of his eyes. “I had a dream that you were gone. I couldn’t find you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Dan said. He found Phil’s hand in the darkness and gripped it tightly. He chuckled as he ran his thumb in soothing circles over Phil’s skin. “I’m starting to think that we should just sleep in the same bed, since it seems like we need each other.”

Phil felt his heart start pounding again, this time from excitement instead of the fear from his nightmare. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that idea. And yes, I do need you. I… when I lost you in my dream, there were so many things that I had wanted to say to you. I tried so hard to find you so that I could say those things.”

“I’m here now,” Dan said softly.

Phil reached out so that he could run his fingers across Dan’s smooth cheek. “Oh, Dan. There’s about a million things I want to say to you. It would take longer than all night. It would take a lifetime. So, if you want to hear it all, you will have to stick around for a while.”

“I told you, I’m not going anywhere.” Dan grinned, flashing his teeth in the darkness.

Phil leaned in so that he could brush his lips softly against Dan’s. Then he waited to see what Dan would do, just in case he had misread the signals Dan was giving him. Dan’s mouth started moving against Phil’s as he enthusiastically returned the kiss.

Dan was still kissing him, but all Phil could do was smile under the attention Dan was giving him because he was just so happy. Dan felt that the lips under his were stretched into a wide grin, and he leaned back with a chuckle, saying, “You’re silly.”

“You’re sillier,” Phil said before pecking Dan’s lips with one more soft kiss. Then they settled into bed together, and this time Dan was the one who wrapped his arms around Phil so that he felt safe and loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to rip me apart in the comments section! I spent 3 days on this, and as a result I am not as emotionally invested in this (the way that I am in my chaptered fics that take months of time, effort, and love), so criticism on this fic won't hurt my feelings or make me defensive. Be brutal and if you hated it, just say so! That being said, I did put some thought and work into this fic, and I hope you enjoyed it <3
> 
> If you are familiar with the usual types of fics I post and came here hoping for one, stay tuned! I'm posting the first chapter of my new chaptered mythology phanfic in a couple days, and I'm excited to share it :)


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